Review: The Whole Bible Story

The Whole Bible Story, by Dr. William H. Marty, is described on the cover as "Everything That Happens in the Bible in Plain English".

As someone who gets bogged down with some of the books describing laws and genealogies every time I attempt to read the Bible Genesis to Revelation, I thought The Whole Bible Story, with a focus on the beautiful story of the Bible, would be something I would both enjoy and appreciate.

While I did appreciate this title on some level, it was not what I expected.  It didn't quite have the story-telling narrative that I had envisioned.  Instead, it was more like an extended Cliff-Note version of the Bible, with straight-forward rewording and retelling of the original text.  I did, however, find some value in it despite not being what I anticipated.  The text is broken down into chapters of topic, rather than book and verse, and presented chronologically.  Some might find reading this "plain English" version before reading the actual Bible may help give them the broader picture they need to understand the original better.  On its own, though, The Whole Bible Story just didn't pull me in as I had hoped.


This isn't a title you'd want to curl up with and read aloud to your kids.  However, if you are a "just the facts" type of person, or are looking for an overview of the events of the Bible, this title may be worth a read through once.


Disclaimer:   This product was given to me by Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.